Skylands Botanical Garden is located in Ringwood New Jersey and it's completely free if you can get there before Memorial Day, which is when a parking fee of $5 is applied (still a steal if you've got a big family!) It's easy to get overwhelmed once you get inside so we tend to tackle one garden per visit. They have a number of speciality gardens (Annual, Perennial, Hosta and Moraine) but our favorite is the Wildflower garden. If you've read The Secret Garden, it's like stepping into the pages of the book. Wooded trails flocked with lovely flowers, stepping stones, teeny bridges... if you don't believe in fairies, one visit will give you faith!

Skylands does offer workshops for both adults and kids, and it's probably best to not try to bring your under-10 crowd to the adult-gear classes, unless you have a budding botanist who wants to learn all about deer resistant plants. If you call the gardens you can also arrange special guided tours (suitable for ages 8+) like a Scavenger hunt put together by the staff, or a solar system walk. And don't miss the series of Friday night concerts at 6:30pm in summer.

And just for fun, here is a list of things to do at Skylands that go beyond the usual “strolling the gardens.”

⁃ Race across the Great Meadow
⁃ Pack some Field Guides and try to figure out which flowers are which yourself (or look for wildlife too! The gardens are filled with creepy crawlies, butterflies, snakes, birds and frogs..)
⁃ Put together a scavenger hunt for younger children
⁃ Pack a picnic to eat under the magnolia trees (and inhale deeply when a summer breeze floats by)
⁃ Look for statues hidden throughout the gardens (the Buddha is our personal favorite)
⁃ Check out the lilac garden in May and June when the flowers are in bloom
⁃ The Octagonal garden, which is a rock lovers dream come true.

The New Jersey Botanical Gardens are open every day from 8am to 8pm. For more information, check out the website or call 973-962-9534.